We had a very busy week! On Sunday we hosted a community event at our house, so I opted to not do farmers market this week (plus it was the city festival this week, and I knew that sales would be slow anyway). Nonetheless, on Saturday we still had a fundraising event to prepare for and attend that evening. It's like when I cut something out of the schedule, it gets filled right back up again!

I didn't keep very good track of my frugal accomplishments this week, but here is what I can remember.

1. Did some cheap landscaping. I used some recycled plastic from Hubs' shop, a $2.00 bag of mulch and free stones from the pasture on a weedy area by our porch. It looks SO much better!

2. Sold 5 dozen eggs.

3. Tried making no-sugar, healthy soaked granola. The recipe called for an extremely long baking time at a low temperature. Of course I wasn't going to tie up my oven for 24 hours, so I baked it at a higher temperature, which made the granola really hard. It almost hurts my mouth to eat it, so I have to let it soak (again!) in milk before taking a bite. It smells good... but looks like dog food. The taste isn't great either, but it's better than not eating granola at all. I think I might go back to my old non-soaked granola recipe, but use honey instead of sugar and coconut oil instead of canola, for a healthier version.

4. Picked strawberries, lettuce and cilantro out of the garden.

5. I took some of the strawberries to a bridal shower, and also got a free plant by winning one of the games. Baby showers and bridal showers are not my favorite things ever*, but prizes always make it better. :)

6. Made jam for the farmers market with free strawberries and rhubarb.

7. I didn't go to the market on Saturday, but I did make up some gift baskets for a silent auction. Hubs and I will be going to Honduras this summer with some people from our church, so they did a few things to try and raise money for the organization, which ministers to street boys in the city.

I helped Hubs make some wooden boxes to put the stuff in. I put a loaf of homemade bread and a jar of jam in one box. In the other box I put a bag of granola, my book, a bar of soap, lip balm and herbal oil. Lastly, I made a box of danishes. My cost for the farmers market box was about $7.00, the bread box was about $2.50, and the danishes were $2.50. By the time the silent auction was over, my stuff had earned over $78.00- a $66.00 net profit! It felt good to earn so much money for the Micah Project.

8. Lastly, I dried some rose petals to use in tea, soaps and bath stuff. A couple hours after I put them in the oven to dry, the kitchen was filled with the wonderful scent of roses. So, free rose petals AND free potpourri! ​Goals For Next WeekMy goals for the coming week are mostly market and garden related. I feel like last week was a whirlwind of activity even though we didn't do the farmers market. So... maybe the farmers market isn't such a chore, after all.

1. Make granola, cookies & pastries for the farmers market.2. Make a batch of soap.3. Weed and mulch garden.4. Re-plant seeds where things have not come up yet.

Til next time,​-Bethany

*Actually, I really dislike showers. You have to dress up for them, but what is too formal and what is too casual? "Let's have pizza at this shower" said nobody ever, so we end up eating a lot of fruit and salad (which isn't terrible, but definitely eat before you get there). And then there is the whole point- the gifts. Can you think of anything funner than having your gift (whether you are the giver or the receiver) publicly displayed and commented on? Showers just seem really awkward and unnatural to me. But you know, at least somebody takes home a lot of free stuff! I have to remind myself that the whole point is to bless someone else, and being awkward for a few hours is worth it.

If I were to host a shower, I would plan a pizza party with ice cream and chocolate. Of course dress would be casual, and we would do something actually fun and/or productive, like flower arranging with the new bride, or making freezer meals for the new mom. Then I would coordinate everyone's store-bought gifts to be delivered to the recipient's home via Amazon, at the rate of one gift per day. Can you imagine being able to open a new package every day for like a month?!? That would be too cool!